Biana Lanson, MD, an otolaryngologist in Stamford, CT, understands that sometimes to get the most comprehensive care possible, one has to think outside the box. As a Harvard-educated physician, she prides herself on fact-based, compassionate care for her patients, and when she found herself the patient suffering from an uncontrolled, debilitating digestive disease following her pregnancies, she knew she had to stay the course to find the best treatments possible.
Her search brought her to Dr. David T. Rubin, Section Chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Co-Director of the Digestive Diseases Center at University of Chicago. Dr. Rubin provided her a treatment regimen that restored her daily function as a physician and as a mother to two young boys. In searching for ways to further control her symptoms and enhance her overall well-being, she turned to yoga, which instilled relaxation and relief. Through her practice, she found a truly holistic approach to her care, combining yoga and meditation with her “Western” medical treatment, truly enabling her to live life to the fullest. It was this partnership with a yoga instructor, who shared her interest in GI disorders, that first brought her in front of the GIRF Board. By invitation from Dr. Rubin, Dr. Lanson presented a collaboration with her yoga instructor to provide yoga videos to IBD patients in an effort to expose them to this modality of care. The project is now proudly showcased on girf.org.
To that end, Dr. Lanson is proud to now serve on GIRF’s Board of Directors as the Vice President of Fundraising, endeavoring to find new ways to continually support the groundbreaking medical research taking place at the Digestive Diseases Center at University of Chicago Now that her career has moved her away from academia and into private practice, her hunger for a continued breadth of information from scientific research to broader physiological and societal issues is nourished by her attendance at GIRF’s robust Board meetings. She is proud to be a part of a unique Board of Directors that has exposure to speakers and research that are truly on the forefront of medicine, and she strives for future growth for GIRF by continuing that initiative through our fundraising.